Knitted garment construction



Jan. 19, 1954 s. CAPPER KNITTED GARMENT CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 10, 1952 INVENTOR. L015 6. Cnppae vdzzor'rze 6' aawmsmmmummm V Patented Jan. 19,]954

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 1 j 2,666,314 7 t I KNITTED GARMENT CONSTRUCTION Lois StCapper, Los Angeles, Calif. V 7 Application December 10, 1952, Serial No. 325,050 '2 6Glaims. (-01. 66-176) This invention relates to a knitted garment construction and more particularly relates to sweaters.

Knitted garments such as sweaters are usually blocked or manipulated into shape and'held to that shape in some suitable manner while. they are drying afterthey have been Washed or cleaned. Usuallyfwhen a'garment is laundered or cleaned, the knitted structure tends to shrink somewhat and when it is blocked it must be pulled out to its original size and shape so that it will dry without having undergone any permanent shrinkage. Y

Some types of body garments have been heretofore devised which allow a certain amount of stretch in the shoulder areas and circumferentially of the arms. vided with resilient or stretchable inserts which merely'provide freedom of movement and when the garments'are removed the stitching is such that they will normally-return to their original size'and shape.

It is a general object of the present invention to. provide a. knitted garment having portions thereof provided with knitted stitching which permit 'overall enlargement of the garment, both as to body and shoulder size and as to sleeve length and circumference, whereby the garment can be blocked to a larger selectedsize and when dry will retain the larger size without undue distortion, thereby providing adjustability, particularly in the case of garments for growing children.

An ordinary knitted garment can be blocked to a larger size within rather restricted limits. Even then however, the distortion of the knitted material is very apparent and the appearance of the garment is adversely affected. I

With a garment constructed to my invention it is possible to adjust or block it to a considerably larger size or to intermediate sizes without destroying the appearance of the garment and the adjustment can be made uniform or proportionate insofar as body length and girth are concerned and also with regard to shoulder growth and an increase in arm length and girth.

Other objects and advantages will more fully appear from the following description in connection with the accompanying drawing.

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a garment constructed according to the invention.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevational view with portions of the sleeves broken away.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of part of the shoulder looking in the direction of the arrow 3 in Fig. 2.

These garments are pro The garment shown in the drawing includes front panels 6, a rear panel 8 and-sleeves [0. There is a collar band l2 which merges intoa button band I l. The usual waistband I6 and wristbands l8 may also be provided. I

The garment has top shoulder sections 20, front shoulder sections 22 and a rear shoulder section 2 3 which comprise an adjustable yoke. These shoulder sections may conveniently'be knitted in a garter stitch which has a considerable stretch in one direction Without unsightly deformation. For the purpose of description I term the stitching in the adjustable or expansible sections of the garment as stitching having a fixable major directional stretch. This means that the stitching can be stretched considerably in one direction and can be blocked or fixed readily in its stretched condition, 7 which stretched condition willfbe maintained after 'the' garmen'tis blocked. The term fixable major directional stretch is used to differentiate from stitching which cannot be stretched readily without distortion and which cannot readily be stretched to any' degree and blocked or i'ixed in its stretched condition. V

-Itwillbe seen that the sections 20, 22 and 24 form a shoulder yoke and the manner in which the sections are formed and located providesforconsiderable adjustment or "fixable expansion 'of' the shoulder portions of the garment. The sections 20 can be stretched laterally or toward the sleeves l 0. The sections 22 at the front'of the yoke and section 24 at the rear thereof can be'stretched vertically or downwardly. The yoke form of sections 20, 22 and 24 is preferably uniform at front and back. Where sections 20 meet sections 22 and 24, they define lines which extend from adjacent the armpit portions of the garment upwardly and inwardly to points adjacent the neck band [2. Fig. 3 shows the manner in which these lines approach each other at the neckband.

The lower portion of the body of the garment is provided with an encircling band 32 of the same type of stitching as the shoulder yoke sections. This band has its major direction of stretch vertically and provides for considerable lengthening of the body of the garment, particularly Where the garment is worn by a growing child.

Extending up each side of the body of the garment are vertical bands 26 which may reach from the bottom edge or adjacent thereto upwardly to the armpits where they meet similar bands 28 which extend along the undersides of the sleeves to points adjacent the wristbands l8. The vertical body bands 26 have their major direction of stretch circumferentially of the body of the The remaining portions of the garment can be knitted in any desired stitches and: designs. However said remaining portions need not be stretched in any manner when the garment is blocked to a larger size. The. size adjustment is provided by the shoulder yoke and the inserted bands of stitching having a fixable major direc tional stretch.

In an ordinary garment, particularly one having a design, when it is blocked to a slightly larger size,-the design will be distorted. That is not true of a garment constructed in accordance with this invention. The body panels 6 and 8 and the major sleeve. portions are not stretched but adjustment to enlarge the. size is made only at the points indicated. above.

My garment: differentiates from those having stretchable inserts because the latter are only to provide temporary expansion for freedom. of movement. The yoke sections and inserted bands with their fixable major directional stretch are so arranged and located that my garment is one which actually is adjustable in size and can be blocked to larger sizes while maintaining the proper proportions and appearance of the garment.

7 It will be understood that various changes can be'made' in the specific details without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

i. In a knitted body garment, a body having a front andback, andhavingsleeves'extending from the body, said sleeves having. armpit portions,

the upper portions of the front and back. ad-

jacent the upper ends, of the sleeves, comprising a neck portion and ashoulder yoke, said shoulder yoke having a front section, a rear section and. top sections, said sections of the yoke each being of knitted stitching having a fixable major directionalstretch, the major directional stretchof the front and rear yoke sections being vertical and the major directional stretch of the top yoke sections being toward the sleeves of the garment.

2. The structure in claim 1, and said yoke sections meeting along lines extending from adjacent the armpits diagonally upwardly and inwardly at the front and back to points adjacent each other at the neck portion.

3. The structure in claim 1, and the front and rear yoke sectionsbeing' of substantiallythe same overall extent, and the top yoke sections being substantially the same in size and relative position at opposite sides of the neck.

4. The structure in claim 1, and vertical bands of stitches having fixable major directional stretch, said bands extending vertically at the sides of the body from the lower portions of the body to the inner ends of the sleeves, the major direction of stretch of said bands being circumferentially of the body of the garment.

5. The structure in claim 1, and bands of stitches having fixable major directional stretch, said bands extending from the armpit portions of the sleeves to points adjacent the outer ends of the sleeves, the major direction of stretch of said'bands being circumferentially of said sleeves.

6. The structure in claim 1, and verticalbands of stitches having fixable major directional stretch, said bands extending from the lower portions of the body ofthe garment atopposite sides thereof upwardly to the armpit portions and thence along the underside of each sleeve toadjacent the outer ends of the sleeves, and bands of stitches having fixable major directional stretch, said latter bands extending about the sleeves adjacent the outer ends thereof, the bands in. the body portion having a major stretch circumferentially thereof, the bands extending lengthwise of the sleeves having their major stretch circumferentially of the sleeves, and the bands about the outer ends of the sleeves having their major stretch longitudinally of said sleeves.

LOIS S'. CAPPER.

.Reierenees Cited in. the: file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 7 Name Date 212,580 Wechsler c Feb. 25, 187-9 412,055 Williams Oct. 1, 1889 2,575,700 Artzt Nov. 20, 1951 

